A New Window Seat

My niece was looking for a window seat to put in a garden shed that she has converted into a summer sitting room.  We were thinking that some kind of a trunk with a cushion on top would be good, but most of the trunks you see around would be just too big for the space.  I stumbled across this handmade pine box of sorts at a garage sale, so I picked it up for twelve bucks - it's 12 inches deep, 37 inches long, just the right height to sit on, and storage space besides.

 

Original Pine Box

Original Pine Box

 

 

I painted the whole thing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Emperors' Silk.

 

First Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Emperors' Silk"

 

 

Next I painted over the Emperors' Silk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Versailles, except for the inside.

 

Second Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Versailles"

 

 

My husband came home after work and said, "I thought you had that painted red.  Didn't you like it that color?" Well, not wanting to explain my whole plan, I just responded, "It was ok, but I have other plans."

After the coat of Versailles I put on a thin coat of clear wax and let it dry.  Next I took some fine sandpaper and started sanding down to expose some of the Emperors' Silk.   I wasn't sure how I liked it until I started waxing it again - another coat of clear wax with dark wax over the top, some drying time, some buffing, sewing a cushion for the top, and Oh My Gosh - I love those two colors together and so did my niece.

She's going to add a hinge on the front to add a little more character, but here is the finished window seat for her little summer sitting room.

 

 

Window seat after two coats of clear wax and one coat of dark wax.

Finished Window Seat

 

 

I will not walk past a handmade pine box at a garage sale again! This was a fun project - a simple pine box with heavy coats of varnish, given a new life with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and some of her great wax. Now all I need is a picture of it in its new home - that great garden shed that's been transformed into a great summer sitting room. 

I should add that there was an inspiration piece that my niece saw - a small shelving unit with a cushion on top and listed for $499. I made this for $23 plus the cost of the paint.  

I also made the cushion from a piece of canvas drop cloth that you can find at any home improvement store. I had watched a video by Miss Mustard Seed about buying, washing, and using these drop cloths for slip covers and things like that. It worked out great! I bought one that was 9' x 20' for about $18. I was afraid it would come out of the dryer a wrinkled up mess, but it washed and dried very well. I put bleach in when I washed it as suggested by Miss Mustard Seed and it came out a nice oatmeal color. I will be trying some slipcovers on a couple of chairs that I have. 

The Internet is so wonderful and gives me so much inspiration and instruction.  :)

The Red Dresser's Hens & Friends Barn Sale

What a wonderful weekend and the perfect setting for a sale - beautiful yard filled with canopy tents, each filled with fun things to sell. An old, red barn in the middle of the yard that housed many more little nooks and crannies of unique - and antique - things to sell. Fun stuff. Fun event.

This was my first outdoor sale and I think God had truly blessed my weekend. The event was a short walk from my house which made getting there pretty easy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was great to see people excited about their new treasures and being inspired to create something themselves with some Annie Sloan paint that was sold there. Fellowship with my helpful granddaughter, daughter and niece made it pretty special, too - my hubby was very helpful, too, and even our son was able to lend a helping hand.

You just never know what will sell, and even though I had to bring some stuff back home I did pretty well. I went there with an assortment of things and sold an assortment of things, but people are really into the old furniture stuff right now - wood grain furniture not so much, but painted old furniture - that's where the interest is. They either want the pieces that someone has put a nice coat of paint on or they want an old piece of furniture that they can paint themselves - making something old look fresh and new with lots of character.

Here are some pictures of the great weekend...

 

 

The Americana corner - handcrafted checkerboards, water bottle holders, baby t-shirts, an apron...

Red, white & blue stuff.

 

Garage sale finds painted with Annie Sloan Paint.

 

Old cupboard doors that I saved from our kitchen remodeland painted for the sale - the raised centers became chalkboards.

They were a popular item and fun for us to write little messages onso folks would know that they were actually chalkboards.

Lily (the vintage dress form) is wearing one of the aprons that I made.

My helpers (Tiffani & Lori) had fun putting aprons on and walking around with them on to try to make a sale for me.

I spent today in one of the Cherry Aprons - I don't usually wear an apron, but think I'm going to start.

It was fun to wear and it really would keep me from getting stuff splattered all over my clothes while cooking.

 

Chalkboards were selling well the first evening so I had to fill in the gaps today with checkerboards.

 

The Barn Sale Special was the Hamper Liners with the wastebasket that they fit in - small hampers that work well for kids. The first ones I made were for our new grandbaby. We've discovered that they're great for fabric scraps in this grandma's

sewing room, good for stuffed animals that need a place to hang out other than the floor, and for the basic laundry hamper where there's not a whole lot of room for a big one. There are lots of fabrics tops to choose from.

 

A couple of my helpers. :)

 

A vintage stroller that's been in the rafters of our garage for years.

It didn't sell at the Barn Sale but it did makefor some fun pictures of our grandbaby, Emma.

 

 

This is me, Marge. For those of you that know me but haven't seen me in a while, YES, I quit coloring my hair.

It is not gray or silver, but WHITE. I'm ok with that.

I no longer have to worry about the wind blowing my hair and someone seeing my roots.

I'm happy having my grandma's white hair.

It's doesn't make me any older but it has simplified my life, and sofar everyone seems to recognize me. :)

 

Again, it was a great weekend and a fun event to be a part of.  Let me know if you see anything in the pictures that you're interested in - NO, the grandbaby is not for sale.  :)